Manual printed labels may be used to provide information on objects, such as shelves, on which products are located. The manual printed labels need to be constantly updated and/or changed to reflect changes in the information being displayed. For example, manual printed labels need to be constantly updated to reflect changes in product pricing. There are several drawbacks to using manual printed labels. For example, the need to constantly update manual printed labels increases labor and material costs associated with managing displayed information. There is also a certain amount of lag time between when an establishment decides to change displayed information, such as product pricing, and when the information displayed is actually updated. Information displayed on manual printed labels is also susceptible to mistakes caused by human error and/or the labels themselves are susceptible to being located at or on the incorrect merchandise (for example, a shelf label being placed on the wrong shelf).
One application of electronic labels is Electronic shelf labels (ESL). Electronic shelf labels are used to provide information on objects on which products are displayed. Typically, electronic display modules are attached to the front edge of the shelves, similar to the manual printed shelf labels that are widely deployed today. A system employing ESL may include one or more electronic display modules, such as Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or similar technology, which can be used to display information about associated products. The ESL system may also include a wireless radio module with a power source, for example a battery. The radio is configured to transmit radio frequency (RF) signals to one or more electronic shelf labels, or access points within range.
Information, such as pricing information, sent from the host system or access points to one or more electronic shelf labels may be obtained from a processor/server in communications with the access points. This enables the ESL system to automatically update displayed prices in less time than it takes to update manual printed shelf labels. Updated information displayed in ESL systems are generally more accurate than those displayed on manual printed shelf labels and the labor and material costs for managing displayed information in ESL systems are less than the costs associated with manual printed shelf labels.
Because of the components, such as the radios used in the ESL systems, the initial startup costs associated with ESL systems are more than the startup costs associated with manual printed labels. In addition, there are no known automated systems for verifying the information displayed on electronic shelf labels is correctly located within the enterprise. In other words, there is no way to ensure that a current price being displayed on an electronic shelf label is the correct price for the associated merchandize on the display shelf.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus for reducing the costs associated with an electronic labeling system and for providing an avenue for verifying that the electronic label is correctly located within the enterprise with respect to associated merchandise.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.